Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Author, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now

Ayaan Hirsi Ali's new book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, is published on March 24 by HarperCollins. She is a Fellow of the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Visiting Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute.

The verdict in the Shafia case exemplifies the ability of Western legal systems to provide justice to victims of honour killings. If anything positive can come from the Shafia verdict, let it be that law enforcement throughout North America takes the time to educate themselves about honour violence.

The Paris offices of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo were firebombed Wednesday, the same day the magazine released an issue caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad on its cover. This is not the first time that Charlie Hebdo's content has angered Muslims.

Horrific details of an alleged mass honour killing emerged in a crowded Ontario courtroom last week: Three young sisters and their polygamous father's first wife were murdered in the name of religious purity.